Double Blind (7 page)

“What do you mean?”

“What’s he like? An OK guy?”

“Seems to be. He’s been Police Chief for over 20 years, I understand. The town must like him.” Alyss stopped and looked at her. “Why are you asking?”

“Just curious.”

“Come on, Sam,” Alyss said. “It’s me. I know all about you and curiosity.”

Sam laughed. “I just feel uncomfortable. As far as I can tell, he’s basing his suspect list of one on what I saw and the size of a missing pair of boots.”

“Shouldn’t he?”

“Eye witnesses are always unreliable. Even cops. Even me. I told him I didn’t really see the man. And a pair of eighty dollar boots doesn’t make a great motive for murder.”

“But, you haven’t met Billy,” Alyss said. “He fits the part.”

As she walked, Sam brushed her hand along the wrought iron fence pickets, then stopped and grasped one of the ornate fence spikes in each fist. She gazed across the cemetery. “You mean like...if the shoe fits...”

“Something like that.”

But, did it all fit? Was Billy Bear the killer? Sam didn’t know what to believe. Not yet. She didn’t know this town or its people or Wade or Billy Bear Wingo. She just didn’t want her eyewitness account, such as it was, to implicate the wrong person.

Alyss laid a hand on her shoulder. “I know it wouldn’t do any good for me to remind you that you’re on vacation and that this isn’t your concern.”

“I know.”

“The truth,” Alyss continued, “is that I’m scared.” Sam started to say something but Alyss raised a hand to stop her. “The entire town is. I could feel it. And with Shelby here...” She looked at Sam. “I don’t know how good or dedicated or anything Wade is, but I know you.”

Sam couldn’t suppress a small laugh. “I never thought I’d see this day. You’re actually encouraging me?”

Alyss shrugged. “I know you’ll find the truth whatever it takes.”

Sam let go of the fence spikes. “Wade might not like me snooping around?”

“Since when did that ever stop you?”

They locked arms and continued their walk.

Returning to Main Street, they passed several cluttered antique stores, Mark’s Pharmacy and it’s fifties style soda counter, and Tankersly's Pool Hall, the local “den of iniquity,” according to Alyss. Finally, after collecting Shelby from the music store where she had found only one CD that wasn’t “like totally stone age,” they reached Tony’s Market, a small corner grocery store.

“I need to pick up a few things for dinner tonight,” Alyss said as they walked inside.

The market was neat, clean. Three aisles, filled with the usual grocery store items, ran the length of the store. Deep wooden bins, brimming with orderly displays of ripe vegetables and fruits, lined one wall. At the rear, sat a freezer cabinet of ice cream treats and a butcher’s case of fresh meats and fish. A slim man with thinning black hair and gold-rimmed glasses smiled as they walked up.

“Hello, Alyss,” he said. “How are you doing today?”

“OK, Tony. You?”

Tony shrugged and extended his hand, palm down, and rocked it back and forth, indicating ambivalent feelings. “Terrible thing about Lloyd.”

“Yes, it is.” Alyss introduced Sam and Shelby and then asked for five Cornish hens.

“Coming right up,” Tony said and then disappeared into the walk-in refrigerator behind him.

“I thought I’d make tomato and butter lettuce salad, stuffed hens with port wine sauce, veggies, and French bread,” Alyss said. “And we’ll get some ice cream to go with the cobbler.”

“Sounds delicious. When’s dinner?” a deep masculine voice behind them said.

Sam turned to see a striking looking man. Tall, trim, mid-fifties, he wore a dirt-stained denim shirt that deepened the cool blue of his eyes. Equally soiled jeans and boots and thick blonde hair, graying slightly at the temples, lent a rugged masculinity. Not the kind of man you would miss in a crowd or anywhere else. A casual glance would become a lingering gaze.

“Sam, this is Burt Eagan,” Alyss said. “Burt, Sam Cody and my daughter Shelby.”

Burt shook hands with Sam and then turned to Shelby. “Your mother has told me a lot about you, but you’re even prettier than she said.”

Shelby blushed. “Thanks.”

“Pardon my appearance,” Burt said. “And the smell. We had to move some cattle this morning.”

Alyss smiled. “I don’t know how you keep up with a ranch the size of yours. I can barely handle my two little acres.”

“Sounds like you ladies have big plans tonight,” Burt said.

“Dinner for my first guests,” Alyss said.

“Congratulations. Exciting isn’t it?” Burt said.

Alyss nodded. “And a little scary.”

“It’ll be great.” He looked at Sam. “I understand you had the misfortune of finding Lloyd.”

“True.”

“Terrible thing. He was a fine man.”

“So I hear,” Sam said.

Burt nodded. “You’re a deputy. California isn’t it?”

How does he know all this? Sam wondered to herself.

As if reading her mind, he added, “Forrest Wade called this morning and told me about it.” He shook his head. “This kind of thing doesn’t happen around here.” He looked at Alyss. “You be careful until Wade tracks down whoever did this.”

“We will.”

“Not meaning any offense,” he said. “But, three ladies, alone...I could have one of the boys camp outside your inn until this is solved.”

Alyss smiled, nodding toward Sam. “Thanks, but she’s armed and dangerous.”

Burt smiled. “Well, the offer stands if you change your mind.”

A young man wearing a white apron walked up. “Mr. Eagan, you’re groceries are ready up front. I’ll take them out to your car whenever you’re ready.”

“Thanks, Jimmy,” he said. The boy walked away. Burt turned back to them, his gaze bouncing off Sam and falling on Alyss. They stood, eyes locked on each other, for a long moment.

Alyss broke the silence. “You’re welcome to join us this evening.”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Burt said. “Besides, you need to entertain your guests, not me.”

“Still, you’re welcome to come.”

He turned to Sam. “I’ve been trying to get her out to dinner for weeks, but she’s been too busy.”

“Really?” Sam said, eying Alyss with a raised eyebrow.

Alyss frowned at her. “Putting the house together has been a full time job.”

“Now that you’re officially open, maybe you’ll have more free time,” Burt said.

“I hope so.”

His eyes lingered on Alyss once again. “Well, I’ll leave you to your shopping. I’ve got a few more errands myself. Nice meeting you, Sam, and especially you, Shelby. Hope to see you again soon.” He turned, and then stopped and looked back at Alyss. “Why don’t you all come over to Casa Grande tomorrow afternoon? We’ll take some horses out for a ride.”

Shelby’s face brightened. She looked hopefully at her mother.

Alyss hesitated and then said, “OK. What time?”

“How about one?”

“We’ll be there.”

“It’s a date then.” He smiled, turned, and walked down one of the aisles.

“Hmmm,” Sam said.

“Not a word,” Alyss said.

“I didn’t say anything.” Sam winked at Shelby.

“Then, don’t,” Alyss said.

Shelby laughed. “Mom, he’s like a total babe.”

Sam laughed; Alyss shook her head and rolled her eyes.

They left Tony’s, each carrying a bag of groceries, and walked down Main Street toward Sam’s Jeep.

“So, Burt rates a personal call from Wade about Lloyd’s murder?” Sam asked.

“You should know, you live in a small town. Everybody knows everything. I’d guess not much goes on around here that Burt Eagan doesn’t know about. Besides, Burt and Wade are good friends.”

“Really?” Sam asked. “They seem so different.”

“I suppose.”

“What does Burt do?” Sam asked.

“He owned a company. Sold it a few years back. He’s not hurting for money, I can tell you that. I hear he owns nearly two thirds of the valley and could probably buy the whole town, several times over. You should see his spread, Casa Grande. Thousands of acres and a huge house. I’ve only seen it from a distance. Never been inside.”

“I guess we’ll see it tomorrow,” Sam said.

The town of Gold Creek, Colorado nestled near the mouth of a deep, narrow valley, cradled by the 11,000-foot peaks of the San Juan Mountain Range. The only road into the valley entered from the west where Highway 550 zipped past. Gold Creek Road split off the highway and wound through a deep notch in the mountains to reach the town, and then continued eastward, bisecting the valley.

Though the steep mountains protected the valley from the most severe storms, it still received its share of snowfall, averaging over 100 inches each year. The mountain peaks attracted at least twice that amount and thus displayed year-round snowcaps, which gave birth to half a dozen waterfalls and several creeks, all of which ultimately fed into Gold Creek itself. Gold Creek paralleled Main Street and marked the northern edge of town before rumbling westward to join the Uncompahgre River near the state highway.

Though no one knew the exact number, it was believed that as many as 10,000 mines punctured the slopes of the San Juan Mountain Range. Several hundred bored into the peaks that surrounded Gold Creek.

Standing in the mouth of one of these shafts--the Old Watkin's Mine--he combed his thick fingers through his unruly beard and watched a hawk soar across the clear blue sky. The sun hovered low, the shadows long. His dark eyes followed the hawk as it twisted first one way, then the other, aligning its attack, before scudding toward the ground, only to rise again, some small animal in his clutches.

He turned and shuffled back into the mine where a gas lantern provided a dim light. He sat on his sleeping bag and removed the last of the hunk beef he had cooked last night and gnawed off a piece. He consumed the meat along with a tomato and chunk of stale bread, washing it down with huge gulps of water.

He stuffed the empty plastic bottle into his backpack where several others lay. Better hike over to Aspen Creek and refill them, he thought. Then in a few hours, after darkness settled over the valley, he could go hunting again.

He snatched up the pack and headed out into the waning daylight.

*

Alyss’ Aspen Creek Inn sat 200 feet above the valley floor and a mile east of town. Pressed against a grove of white barked aspens, it possessed a 180-degree view across a rolling, flower-dusted meadow. Aspen Creek tumbled down the sloping terrain a hundred feet from the house on its way to join Gold Creek near town.

After carrying the groceries in, Shelby headed to her room to listen to her new CD while Sam and Alyss put away the perishables, dressed and stuffed the hens with a hazelnut-cornbread mixture, then retreated to the front porch, each with a cup of herbal tea. Sam curled into one corner of a wooden swing that hung by two shiny new chains, while Alyss sat in a weathered ladder back rocker.

The sun hung near the jagged peaks to the west and bathed the porch with its final blush. Its warming rays gilded the roses that filled the front yard and added diamond-like sparkles to the churning waters of Aspen Creek.

Sam inhaled the clean, crisp air. “This place is fabulous,” she said. “You really picked a winner.”

“I had my doubts at first,” Alyss said. “But, the longer I’ve been here the more I love it.”

“I can see why. Your inn, the town, the mountains. It’s all so perfect. Not like home.”

“That’s because Mercer’s Corner isn’t fit for habitation,” Alyss teased. “Except for snakes and scorpions.”

Sam laughed. “That’s true.”

Shelby came out the door, dressed in shorts, tee shirt, and tennis shoes, her green Elmo backpack slung over one shoulder. A Macintosh iPod hung from a black cord around her neck and headphones covered her ears. Her head bobbed back and forth and she sang, woefully out of tune, with the music that spilled around the ear pads.

Finally, Sam thought. For the first time since Sam had gotten there, Shelby looked like a normal teenager, not some LA raver. Except for the Sesame Street hair clips that is.

“Where are you going?” Alyss asked.

Shelby slipped the headphones from her ears. “For a walk.”

“Don’t go too far,” Alyss said. “There’s a murderer on the lose, in case you forgot.”

“Mom, you worry too much. I’m not going far. You said you wanted me to get out of my room more.”

“OK.” Alyss held her hands up, palms out in surrender. “Just stay within sight of the house. It’s easy to get turned around and lost up here.”

Shelby rolled her eyes. “Want me to drop bread crumbs?”

Alyss frowned. “No. I just want you to be careful.”

“I will. I’ll stay near the creek.” Shelby reseated the headphones, ending further conversation, bounced down the porch steps, and headed around the inn toward the forest.

“See what I mean?” Alyss said.

“She’s a teenager. I seem to remember arguing with my mom, too.”

Alyss sighed. “Maybe I’m just too sensitive. Too judgmental.”

“That’s what moms are supposed to be, isn’t it?” Sam said. When Alyss didn’t respond, Sam continued. “Besides, you’re a little off balance right now. The divorce, the move, Shelby testing your limits. This murder.”

“Maybe.” Alyss finished her tea and placed the cup on the porch beside her. “You know me, Sam. I’m like you. Simple, practical. I don’t believe in much. Sun, rain, seasons, the laws of physics. The things that aren’t subject to interpretation. Then, of course, there’s happiness, joy, promises. But, those beliefs evaporated the day Dan waltzed in, packed a bag, and said he was leaving. For Tiffany.”

“I know it’s tough. But, you’ll survive.”

“It’s what they’re doing to Shelby that I can’t stand. I don’t even know her anymore. She’s seventeen for Christ’s sake.” She massaged her temples. “They bought her a new BMW convertible. She’s not doing well in school, rebelling against everything, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she was using drugs. And they reward her. Does that make sense?” Alyss rocked forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

“I wish I could help,” Sam said.

“Just your being here helps.”